


Soulmates (The Third)

by fansofsuchandsuch



Series: Soulmate AU [3]
Category: One of Us Is Lying - Karen M. McManus
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 20:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17925704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fansofsuchandsuch/pseuds/fansofsuchandsuch
Summary: All is fair in love and au's.





	Soulmates (The Third)

**Author's Note:**

> I had this done for like a month before posting it, oops. -S

Ever since finding out Nate wasn't her soulmate, Bronwyn hasn't spoken to him. It's only been two days, but still, it hurts. This time is different, she knows it is, it's worse than any other time someone has spoken her words but she didn't speak theirs. Usually it was just a bit of a bummer, but hearing Nate say those words and then confirming-- _lying_ \--that she said his, life was just better. She could see them together, and they fit perfectly. She was happy, complete, but when she saw the words herself, saw the truth, it all came crumbling down.

She wasn't Nate's soulmate. He wasn't hers.

The truth became deafening in her ears, in her mind. She couldn't think about anything else but the worst part was that she kept thinking another girl would get to kiss Nate, to hold him, to comfort him, to hear his laugh, and that she wasn't her. She hated that fact more than anything. By all means, she should hate Nate for what he did, but she doesn't, at least she doesn't completely hate him. She's beyond pissed, but if he hadn't spoken her words, she thinks she may have let him believe he had just for any time with him. That's not how this works, though, so she left him standing there, following the rules just like she would any other time.

But it sucks.

All she can think about is his stupid grin, those stupid big blue eyes, that leather jacket, the hands that sent sparks up and down her arms. All she can hear is his laugh, his voice saying her name as if it's the most delicate thing ever spoken, just him, and it's infuriating. She hasn't left her dorm in two days, but Maeve told her to leave today to just get coffee with her, and Bronwyn couldn't resist. She threw on some jeans and a shirt before leaving to go to the coffee shop downtown, but once she arrived she saw Nate talking to her sister.

She storms into the shop, furious, and pushes between Nate and Maeve. She glares at Nate, pulling a confused Maeve to be behind her. "What part of leave me alone don't you understand, or are you trying to convince my sister you're her soulmate too?" She can see the effects those words have on him, the way he flinches as she spits them out, but he deserves this.

"Bronwyn, calm down, just hear him out." Maeve says, making Bronwyn spin with a confused look.

"No, and we're leaving." She retorts, grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her away from Nate towards the front door. Nate, though, yells for her to stop this time.

"Stop! Please, just listen to me." Nate begs. Bronwyn doesn't know why, but she stops. She doesn't turn around though, but she does stop, and that's all Nate needs. He sighs with relief and continues. "I lied to you and I'm sorry, more sorry than I can ever say. I hate myself so much for it but I never meant to hurt you, it was just a dumb thing I did because, well, I was tired of not having a soulmate. I was sick of knowing I'd never have one, at least never meet them, and when I saw you, it made it a thousand times worse. You added one word, Bronwyn, just one, but fate is a bitch and the overwhelming truth of 'it's not you' came to my mind, but for once I disregarded that voice. I focused on yours instead, on your smile instead, and I lied. I wasn't intending too, I just wished more than anything in that moment that you were my soulmate, so I made it true." Finally, Bronwyn turns around and focuses on Nate.

"That was fucked up." She says. Nate smiles.

"I know, it was really fucked up, and I'm sorry I hurt you, but I'm not sorry for our dates. I'm not sorry for stealing that day back from the universe, I'm not sorry for the time we spent together and I'm not sorry for thinking I could spend the rest of my time with you. I know we aren't soulmates, but I don't care. I want you, Bronwyn, not anybody else. I just want you, and I want to be there for you." Nate continues. Bronwyn shakes her head and folds her arms, looking down at the ground.

"That's not how this works." She says, more for herself than to Nate, but he hears.

"Why not?" Nate asks, making her lift her head up. "Why can't this be how it works? Why can't we decide who we love, who we fall in love with? Why is fate such an asshole to dangle the possibility of love in front of our faces but not let some people have it? Why can't we make our own decisions and fall and be in love anyways? Because if I know one thing, Bronwyn, I love you more than I've loved anyone in my entire life, and if I had to choose between you and my "real soulmate", I would choose you every time." Nate finishes with such conviction that Bronwyn almost believes it, almost lets herself, but she quickly stops and sighs.

"That's just it, there isn't a choice." She says as a matter of fact, which just makes Nate grin more.

"Exactly, there isn't a choice, there's not even a competition because..." He takes his jacket off and holds out his arm for everyone to see. "Bronwyn, I choose _you_ to be my soulmate."

And right there, in the same font as the rest of his mark, is the word 'too' tattooed on, looking as if it had been there forever. Bronwyn sees and reads it over and over again before smiling so wide it hurts her face. She reads it after she runs into Nate's arms, after she kisses him senseless, after she wakes up every morning next to him and before she falls asleep at night. She reads it at their wedding, to their children, anytime she can. She thinks about it one day after meeting her "actual soulmate" at a work conference, but she didn't know that. No, instead she gives the man a smile before leaving to go home to Nate and their kids, to the soulmate she chose.

And Nate, well he finally answered his question. As he looks over at Bronwyn, thirty years from that moment, he knows he didn't make a mistake at all, that she is his soulmate whether the universe wanted it or not.

After all, fate cannot be so kind, so sometimes we have to make our own to even the score.


End file.
